Welcome

Welcome to the information page for Slovenia. Here you can find information about the Slovenian Herpes Management Forum (SloHMF).

Mission statement

The SloHMF was established in June 1999 under the patronage of the Slovenian Society for Infectious Diseases. Its aims and objectives are:

• To improve the knowledge, management and counselling of herpesvirus infections among Slovenian medical professionals

• To increase awareness and understanding of the impact of herpesvirus infections on society in Slovenia

• To set up national guidelines for the management of specific herpesvirus infections

• To disseminate current knowledge and medical management of herpesvirus infections, specifically HSV, VZV and CMV, as well as EBV, HHV-6, -7 and -8.

The SloHMF board

The SloHMF board comprises medical doctors of varying specialities, including infectious diseases, gynaecology, obstetrics, venereology and general practice. Representatives from the fields of organ transplantation, oncology and epidemiology will expand board membership in the future. The SloHMF is chaired by Mojca Maticic, MD, PhD, a specialist in internal diseases and Professor of infectious diseases.

Past activities of the SloHMF

• The introduction of herpesvirus infections as a separate topic in postgraduate educational programmes

• Regional lectures aimed at general practitioners covering genital herpes and herpes zoster management are being held throughout Slovenia under the patronage of the Medical Chamber of Slovenia and the SloHMF

• A mass media campaign conducted from 1999 to 2001 has disseminated information about modes of transmission, diagnosis and treatment of herpesvirus infections to the general public

• A multicentre study of HSV-1 and -2 seroprevalence in the high-risk population of STD clinics was conducted in 1999. In the future, the SloHMF hopes to perform a broad-based seroprevalence study of HSV-1 and -2 infections in the sexually active population, to set up national guidelines for the management of herpesvirus infections and to publish more information booklets for high-risk groups and the general population.

SloHMF meetings

Several meetings have taken place since 1999, including the International Meeting of the Slovenian Society for Infectious Diseases and an open roundtable meeting of the SloHMF board, both of which were held in June 1999. During the Annual Meeting of the Slovenian Society for Chemotherapy, held in March 2000, recommendations for the treatment of patients with genital herpes, herpes zoster and varicella were presented.

SloHMF publications

• 'Human Herpesvirus Infections' - publication contains professional and research lectures presented at the International Meeting of the Slovenian Society for Infectious Diseases, June 1999

• Recommendations for the management of genital herpes, herpes zoster and varicella, presented at the Annual Meeting of the Slovenian Society for Chemotherapy, March 2000

• A patient information booklet published in January 2000 and entitled 'Herpes is Here', is available to patients visiting general practitioners, infectious disease specialists, gynaecologists and venereologists.